


Dean's new look

by everafter_in_neverland, Insane1001



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Self-Conscious Dean, haircut, slight angst, worried about his hair Deano
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-07 06:34:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15902826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everafter_in_neverland/pseuds/everafter_in_neverland, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Insane1001/pseuds/Insane1001
Summary: Dean is worried that Roman doesn't like his new hair cut.





	Dean's new look

**Author's Note:**

> I wish I could give all the credit to everafter-in-neverland, they did a lot of work and that's why I've put them as co-creator. Definitely check out their tumblr, its awesome and they are awesome.

Dean arrived at the arena just as Raw was getting started, walking through the back entrance with a cap pulled low over his freshly buzzed head to keep any lingering fans from recognizing him. His hand found its way to the brim of his cap every few moments, self consciously tugging and adjusting it as he walked through the backstage area, hoping to avoid any comments on the new cut just yet as he greeted fellow wrestlers. Everyone seemed happy to see him back and he couldn’t deny he was excited to be back after such a long absence. It had been his first major injury since getting into the business; the first time in over a decade since he’d properly been away from the ring and everything that came with the lifestyle and it had left him with a feeling almost like homesickness, leaving a hollowness in his chest, especially since he’d barely seen his boys during that time as well. 

Tipping his head up, Dean tried to spot Roman or Seth over the bustling crew wandering around backstage as he made his way towards the locker rooms, hoping to drop his bag off and find his boys as soon as possible. He hadn’t caught sight of that all familiar tattoo or the sound of his youngest brother’s cackle of a laugh by the time he had made it to the locker room however and he felt his shoulders drop slightly. Turning into the room, Dean froze, a smile lighting up his face as he took in the sight of his boys.

Roman and Seth were talking, completely oblivious to his presence as their backs were turned to him, and as Dean continued to watch the two men he could feel unease slowly settling into his gut. He’d kept in contact with the boys while away but their conversations had taken place mostly though a screen, using a phone or laptop to catch up whenever they had time, though on a few occasions they’d managed to meet up when they’d happened to be in the same area. Between Dean’s aversion to tech and the fact that he’d been so focused on rehabbing and getting back in the ring, however, he’d been pretty distant.

He knew a fair bit had changed, that he’d packed on some serious muscle during his time in rehab, coming back bigger and healthier than he’d felt in years, but Roman and Seth had yet to see his hair since he’d cut it and he couldn’t deny he was nervous about their reactions, especially Roman’s. it had been a relatively impulsive decision at the time, but something he’d known he’d have to take care of eventually. He’d been watching his hair thin for years now and the worry over it had only seemed to speed everything up, creating a vicious cycle he couldn’t escape. He’d tried fairly desperate to fix it, buying up a host of different hair thickening and growth products, but it had been to no avail and he’d been forced to face the reality that this was happening whether he wanted it to or not. The weight of it all had been too much one day and he’d snapped, heading to the closest barber’s and getting almost all of it taken off. Now he was just hoping the worst of the reactions would be lost in the fray of his return.

Dean finally stepped into the locker room, knocking his knuckles against the door frame to get Roman and Seth’s attention. They both seemed to do almost a double take at his appearance despite knowing he was coming, surprise flitting across their faces before they broke out in smiles.

“Dean!” Seth exclaimed, making his way over even as Roman used the few extra inches he had over Seth to get to Dean first, wrapping him up in a tight hug and ducking under the brim of Dean’s cap to kiss him.

“Hey there, Babe,” was breathed against his lips as Roman smiled brightly. “Missed you,” he continued, pressing his forehead against Dean’s and sliding a hand over the back of his cap before Seth interrupted the moment, his voice teasing as he spoke.

“C’mon, Ro, you’re not the only one who missed Dean.”

Roman rolled his eyes and pressed one last kiss to Dean’s lips before stepping back and letting Seth move in to give Dean a hug as the man chuckled, reaching up to tug his cap back into place before patting Seth on the back.

“It’s good to see you, man,” Seth spoke, a smile on his face as he stepped back.

“Especially looking like this,” Roman chimed in just to drag another laugh from his boy. 

“You know it, Babe,” Dean stated with a grin as he moved further into the room to drop his bag onto a bench. “Its good to be back.”.

“Haven’t heard from you in a while, Deano,” Seth commented and Dean hummed softly in agreement, turning with a grin still on his face.

“Well I’ve been busy rehabbing like a madman so I’d be ready to help out your sorry ass, brotha,” Dean teased, grin widening at the offended huff Seth released in reply.

“Well it’s good to have you back,” Roman cut in before the two could really get started even as he smiled at the familiarity of the friendly teasing between the two. “Raw just ain’t been the same without you running around creating chaos.”

“Even if you are a dick,” Seth stated throwing Dean a pointed look before breaking out into a smile again. “It’s going to be great having you back in the ring, Dolph and Drew won’t know what hit them,” Seth crowed and Dean gave a smirk. 

“I don’t think anyone will know what hit them.”

The three of them spent the next hour shooting the breeze and catching Dean up on all he’d missed while he was out healing. It wasn’t long before Roman was called away for his segment however, leaving with a final pass of his hand over Dean’s cap and a wish of good luck.

As the door closed behind him, Dean moved to finally pull his cap off his head, throwing it onto his bag as he ran a hand over his short hair. Seth turned back from where he had been neatening up his bag and froze, words dying on his lips as his eyes caught sight of the missing locks.

“Deano, your hair!” 

Dean gave an aborted shrug of his shoulders, dragging a hand over his shaved head. “It was time for it to go,” Dean said and turned away from Seth’s wide eyes that were still locked on his hair.

“But you-”

“It’s not a big deal, brotha. Now what’s the plan for tonight?” Dean spoke over Seth, turning the discussion to their segment later on during the night and leaving the topic of his hair behind them.

By the end of the night Dean was about ready to collapse. Between the crowd's excitement over him returning and having to stay backstage as Roman was maced in the middle of the ring and attacked, the exhaustion was starting to hit him. Dean sighed and pulled his cap back onto his head before hopping out of the car and going to grab Roman from the back.

With one hand at the small of Roman’s back and the other dragging Roman’s bag along side him, Dean steered Roman towards their room. Glancing behind him he caught sight of Seth trailing after them with not only his own bags, but Dean’s as well and Dean shot him a tired smile, reminding himself to pick up the tab next time they got a drink together in thanks.

Upon reaching the door to their room, Seth dropped the bag down beside him and patted him on the shoulder as he said goodnight, shooting Roman a worried look before he headed off to find his own bed for the night.

With a heavy sigh, Dean pushed open the door and herded Roman inside, sending him off towards the bed as he brought their bags in. Dropping them by the doorway and out of the way, Dean turned around to find Roman sitting on the corner of the bed, hands rubbing at puffy eyes, and quickly moved over to stop him from angering the already heavily abused flesh. Roman simply looked up at him with tired bloodshot eyes in response, his entire body sagging with exhaustion and causing Dean to wince sympathetically. Gently patting Roman’s thigh, Dean encouraged him to shuffle up the bed as he spoke.

“C’mon, Ro, let’s get you into bed.”

Roman gave a small groan as he moved under the covers, body going practically limp as he settled against the bed except for the hand reaching out to catch Dean’s wrist. 

“M’sorry, Baby Boy, I was gonna take you out for a drink and some fries to celebrate your big return.” 

Dean gave a tiny smile. “You just try and rest, Ro, your eyes need to be all healed up for Slummer,” Dean spoke and Roman gave a noise of agreement. 

“Lay with me?” Roman asked, already pulling Dean down and laughing softly as Dean happily dropped face first into the pillow beside him.

The next few days were spent preparing for Summerslam and making sure Roman was resting and taking care of his eyes as much as possible so that he would be ready to take out Brock. It was easier said than done, however, with the week packed full of travel and interviews and meet and greets before the big PPV. Or, at least, Roman’s week was jam packed. Dean was essentially free to do as he pleased, his sudden return leaving him with no commitments beyond his actual appearance at Summerslam. Instead, Dean took to accompanying Roman to his engagements, happy to catch a few extra minutes with his man after the months apart.

It had been fun so far, if not a little tiring. Roman always brought along his good sense of humour to these things and everyone inevitably ended up having a good time. He was a complete natural to the business, inside the ring and out, and Dean enjoyed watching him in his element. Things took a turn for the worse later on in the week however. Roman was doing an interview with an Australian news outlet for an event happening later on in the month when the topic of conversation had turned to him.

It had started out innocently enough, talking about wanting to face Dean now that he was back, but then Roman had mentioned his new haircut, citing it as the reason to start their feud. Dean could feel himself give a little flinch, hand lifting to run over his shaved hair as he eyed Roman, trying to figure out how serious he was being. It didn’t stop there either, though Dean couldn’t deny he wished it had, with Roman going on to talk about how the bangs being gone was going to be a big problem for the Shield if they ever reunited. It reminded Dean of the table for 3 piece they’d done the year before and how Roman had been lamenting the future loss of Dean’s bangs already. Dean had assumed the horror had simply been a dramatic reaction for the audience, but the fact that Roman was still reacting with such distaste so long after the segment was making Dean second guess his assumption.

Then came the final nail in the coffin. The interviewer mentioned a hair vs hair match, but where Dean would have to grow his hair back out instead if he lost. Roman had started laughing, clearly taken with the concept even if he placed the blame on the interviewer for having the idea in the first place. Dean could feel a piece of himself crumbling as he watched Roman continue to chuckle quietly over the idea, a wide grin lighting up his face.

He’d thought Roman had been fine with his new haircut as the man hadn’t actually said anything to Dean, not even when he’d been without a cap or beanie. He had noticed there were a few less hair ruffles, instead Roman seemed to only brush his hand over his hair before dropping it, but Dean hadn’t thought too much of it at the time. These comments were making Dean worry that there was something behind it though, that maybe Roman found him less attractive now. 

It came to head a few days later when Roman moved to run a hand over Dean’s head. “I miss your curls, Baby Boy,” Roman mumbled, gazing forlornly at where his thumb was gently rubbing over the buzzed hair behind Dean’s ear. Dean wilted a little, his shoulders hunching as he pulled his head from Roman’s grasp with a fake smile plastered on his face.

Roman’s brows furrowed a little as he watched Dean, worry bubbling up in him as Dean gave a forced chuckle. “You really miss the bangs, huh?” Dean asked, forcing his voice to sound light and uncaring. 

Roman could feel the worry being replaced with guilt as realization struck him. Roman had no idea how he could have forgotten about how stressed Dean had been over his hair loss; all the times he’d caught Dean looking in the mirror as he pawed at his hair, a frown twisting his features, or the ever growing pile of bottles of hair thickening shampoo in their shower, not to mention him straight out admitting to being freaked out over it just last year. Nor could he believe he’d missed all the signs that had been right in front of him since Dean’s return, especially when he prided himself on knowing his boy better than anyone. There was no denying how insecure Dean had obviously been feeling about it now that he’d clued in though, chief among them the fact that Dean’s habit of wearing a hat had reached all new heights. Roman couldn’t think of a time in the last week when he’d seen Dean without one except for when they’d gone to bed.

Dean shifted uneasily, dragging Roman out of his thoughts, and he watched as Dean’s hand came up to rub over his collarbone. Realizing he'd yet to answer Dean, Roman gave a small noise and stepped in front of Dean to catch his eye.

”Hey, Babe, no,” Roman soothed, reaching out to catch Dean around the waist as he started to move back. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Dean seemed to freeze momentarily in his grip before looking at Roman with a raised brow and false ease in his voice. “I don’t know what you're talking about.” 

Roman frowned, arm tightening around Dean’s waist as he pushed forward with his questioning. “That all the stuff I’ve been saying about your hair has been getting to you.”

Dean’s shoulders seemed to give an aborted shrug, jerking slightly as his eyes flickered away before settling on Roman’s again. “It's fine, Ro.” 

“Its clearly not, Babe,” Roman murmured, lifting a hand to cup Dean’s jaws and gently brushing his thumb over Dean's beard. “Look, of course I miss your bangs, you’ve had them since I met you, but this new look is great. You look amazing.” 

“Rome, seriously-”

“No, shut up for a second,” Roman said, giving his boy’s jaw a little push to close it and waiting for baby blues to settle on him again. “You look amazing, Baby Boy, you hear me? Whether you have all your hair or none, you’re still going to be the most handsome guy I’ve ever met. Have you seen these baby blues and your dimples?” Roman teased, thumb stroking over one of the aforementioned dimples as Dean’s lips curled up slightly. “Some hair ain’t gonna change how gorgeous you are and I’m always gonna love you.” 

Dean rolled his eyes, a light flush to his cheeks as he muttered “fuckin’ sap,” despite the smile on his face.

Roman smiled in response and gently kissed his boy as he replied. “Yeah, but I’m your sap and you’re stuck with me, moron.”


End file.
